Common Name:

General Information

Crossopteryx febrifuga is a deciduous savannah tree, ranging from 1.8 - 15 metres tall, with a rounded crown and pendulous branchlets[].
The plant is sometimes grown in plantations to provide shade[]. It is also harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Sudan and Ethiopia south to South Africa and Namibia.

Habitat

Widespread and fairly common in mixed woodland, open Combretum scrub and grassland with scattered Combretum, Acacia etc., sometimes by lakes and streamsides, in rocky places or termite mounds at elevations from 120 - 1,380 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	10.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the tropics and subtropics, it is found at elevations ranging from sea level to 1,450 metres[].
Prefers rocky soils[]. Species in this genus generally thrive in a wide range of well-drained soils and a sunny position[].
Tolerates fires[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark is febrifuge[]. It is used in African traditional medicine for the treatment of dysentery, diarrhoea and fevers[].
Betulic acid, isolated from the stem bark, has shown cytotoxicity against a human colon carcinoma cell line[].
The bark is used by South African witchdoctors for ordeal trials[].

Leaf extracts yielded the flavonoids quercetin-3-arabinoside, quercetin-3-galactoside, quercetin-3-glucoside, myricetin-3-galactoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside, vitexin, isovitexin, two compounds tentatively identified as the xylosides of vitexin and isovitexin, orientin and isoorientin[].
Two bisdesmosidic saponins were also isolated from the roots. A triterpene saponin, with a ursadienedioic acid aglycone part, was isolated from the root bark and its structure was determined[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree has potential for use in integrated planting systems. The pH, available phosphorus, cation exchange capacity, total carbon content, and total nitrogen content were greater under C. febrifuga tree clumps than in the surrounding area[]. Potential soil respiration and mineral nitrogen accumulation was also greater beneath C. febrifuga[]. Soil water content was lower beneath canopies when soil moisture was greater than field capacity[].

Other Uses

The seeds are used to fumigate clothes[]. They are powdered and made into a pomade, used for rubbing the body[].

Crossopteryx has a higher intrinsic resistance to fire[]. A 20-mm diameter stem of Crossopteryx survives exposure to 650°c, and can withstand frequent fires[].

The wood is very hard, fine textured, with a pale pink tinge. It is used for building, domestic implements such as utensils, tool handles[, , ]. It is also used for sculptures[].
The wood is used for fuel.

Propagation

Seed -

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